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MOTHER:

Lead and acid batteries are still not exactly nature's best friend though. They're going to stick around those landfills long after we're gone, leaking lead and acid the whole time. How big an issue has that been in your design?

DA:

If you're careful, you need never throw away the batteries in the truck. When exhausted, they can be cheaply rebuilt by the manufacturer. The problem is getting consumers to want to recycle them. Here in Arkansas, in order to make sure that as few batteries and their contaminating agents as possible end up in the landfills, a $10 fine has been imposed on any buyer of a battery who doesn't bring the old one with them. All those old batteries go back and get remanufactured.

MOTHER:

The Opel conversion cost you $1,500. What has happened to the prices of equipment since 1979?

DA:

The main expense was, and still is, the electric motor, which is actually the starter motor for some commercial jet engines. Often they can be obtained surplus for as little as $300—$400. A new one will run you about $800. Wiring, batteries, and relays generally cost about $400, a generator about $200. The last—and most variable big cost—is the combustion engine. A lightweight vehicle may run just fine on the 5-hp engine used in my first car. You'll be writing a check for about only $200-$300 for that one, but if additional power and bigger engine are needed, the costs will go up. My diesel engine ran me about $1,200. It's important to remember that all of these expenses will go down considerably, though, if you are willing to do some scrounging and dealing. A careful buyer can spend as little as $2,000 for the whole thing, though I've known folks who forked out twice that much for all-new equipment and custom installation.

MOTHER:

Do you consider this process very practical if the conversion's going to cost $2,000 from the start?

DA:

It's actually very practical if you happen to have an old car or truck with serious engine problems that you still want to keep around. I'm not suggesting that you tear the engine out of your new '93, but an older car that still has a good chassis will run reliably for years on the hybrid drive, getting two to three times the mileage and producing a fraction of the pollutants in the process.

MOTHER:

How many years will the drive run before problems begin? DA:

You might not believe this, but I'm still using the same electric motor that I installed in the Opel in 1979, and that motor was built in 1952! It has over 100,000 miles on it and the only maintenance it has ever required is $8 for parts. The only possible problem with an electric motor is overheating, so I've made a point of using a cooling fan and running it continuously. The weakest link in the chain is obviously the combustion engine. The 5-hp lawn mower engine I used in the Opel lasted only a few years, but it was so cheap that replacing it was really no big deal. Eventually I decided that the new design merited an investment in the diesel, which I purchased new in 1980. It's still running perfectly. I think the chassis will fall apart before the engine does.

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